Ceremonial Opening of Parliament February 14

The Ceremonial Opening of the new session of Parliament will take place on Thursday, February 14, at a joint sitting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The opening, which marks the beginning of the legislative year (2019/2020), will feature the traditional delivery of the Throne Speech by Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, at 11:00 a.m.

During the Throne Speech, the Governor-General will outline the priority programmes and policies to be pursued by the Government during the new fiscal year.

After the ceremony, the House of Representatives will reconvene at 2:00 p.m. for the tabling of the 2019/2020 Estimates of Expenditure by the Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clake.

The Estimates will provide details of the amount the Government intends to spend on Recurrent (housekeeping) business and capital (development) projects.

The Standing Finance Committee of the House will consider the Estimates from March 4 to 5.

On Thursday, March 7, the Minister of Finance and the Public Service will open the Budget Debate, and on Tuesday, March 12, the Opposition Spokesperson on Finance will make his contribution to the Debate.

Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Peter Phillips, will make his contribution to the Debate on Thursday, March 14.

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, will speak in the Budget Debate on Tuesday, March 19, and the Finance Minister will close the Debate on Wednesday, March 20.

On Friday, March 22, the Senate is expected to debate the Budget.